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He went to Canada, where he lived for a time following the 1976 Olympics. Though no longer able to contribute, Ali surely must have surveyed the scene, took it all in and exhaled in satisfaction. They had been around the world with Ali, and I kind of felt like I didnt deserve what I was getting, which was, of course, would turn out to be a memory of a lifetime. Norma "Jean" Sooter. You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. This account has been disabled. He won the WBC heavyweight title in 1986 by defeating Pinklon Thomas, then lost it in his first defense in the same year to Mike Tyson. All rights reserved. After all, Berbick would steer himself back home to peruse his dog-eared bible after training sessions, break out into impromptu hymns, and spend most of his Sundays at church, where he would often preach, energetically, at the pulpit. Their money ran out before the details could be taken care of. (6), Despite the chaos, the event was blessed by a comfortable moonlit night and, thanks to ticket prices being slashed from $50 to $5, a decent turnout of 8,000. That fight was like watching a mugging. From now on, it would be one calamity after another, a seemingly endless series of tribulations. Often in trouble with the law, he once spent 15 months in prison for rape. In fact, his loss to Tyson seemed to mark a grim turning point. With seven WBC title defenses since 1978, Holmes was an established champion coming off the first marquee win of his title reign: a pitiful butchering of the feeble Muhammad Ali. In retrospect, all of us had done our mourning after the Holmes fight. Police did not have a motive and there was no word yet on what kind of weapon was used or how many people were involved in Berbick's death. In retrospect, all of it was wishful thinking. There Berbick worked at a variety of jobs to make ends meet. Berbick did his best to bull Ali and while he got in some heavy blows Ali shook them off and got back on the bicycle. A final attempt to regain verticality ended with Berbick tottering into the arms of Mills Lane, who promptly halted the massacre. These grim footnotes are hardly surprising when one considers that Berbick was an entrenched member of The Lost Generation of heavyweights, a motley, miserable, and morose collection of overweight and undermotivated malcontents who would eventually disintegrate in various blowouts of marijuana, cocaine, Colt 45, late-night revels, Twinkies and Whoppers. Berbicks dominance was such that he occasionally barked at the old champion. Still, Berbick was an authentic spoiler, and when he scored upsets over David Bey and undefeated Mitch Blood Green in 1985, he qualified for a shot at undefeated WBC titleholder Pinklon Thomas. Holmes, returning to the ring after an absence of four years, had just won his first fight since 1985, stopping hapless Tim Doc Anderson in one round at the Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, Florida. Police have arrested a man and were interrogating him at the Port Antonio police station in Portland, Const. But while Hunsaker couldnt touch the whippet-quick teen-age gold medalist, Berbick feasted on the geriatric shell that remained. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). If fighting three minutes against an opponent that largely ceded the round taxed his energy supply, what would happen once the younger bull revved up his attack? In spanning the Ali and Tyson eras, Berbick beat such fighters as Iran Barkley, Greg Page and John Tate. A press conference was conducted at a makeshift pressroom on the second floor of a Holiday Inn undergoing renovation at Paradise Island at 10:30 a.m. the day after the fight. Legal Statement. While Ali, Berbick and Thomas Hearns (who fought Ernie Singletary) had their own locker rooms, the other nine fighters were jammed into the remaining dressing room. And Tyson, conqueror of Berbick, is a convicted rapist and deep in debt. Ali was the master of that game and here was Berbick talking to Ali. Even when Holmes, from the dais, insulted him, Berbick remained motionless. Recently, he had been coaching boxing at clinics in Trinidad. Learn more about managing a memorial . The accuser claimed that Berbick had driven to her apartment in Miami (FL) on Halloween in 1991 to pay her for her services but then physically assaulted her, ripped off her clothing, and then raped her. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. Berbick drove Ali toward the ropes with a series of heavy body shots, then maintained the pressure as Ali desperately tried to fend him off with clinches and the Rope-a-Dope. The crowd tried to spark Ali with Ali, bomaye chants but even the ghosts of Kinshasa couldnt regenerate the Ali of old. Verify and try again. Berbick vaulted to world prominence with a stunning ninth-round KO of former WBA titlist John Tate on the Roberto Duran-Sugar Ray Leonard I Brawl in Montreal card in June 1980, and since then he had gone 4-1 with four early-round knockouts, the most recent of which was a two-rounder against Conroy Nelson in July. That lead to Nadine initiating divorce proceedings. In 1997, he violated his parole and was deported. In round two, Berbicks steady pressure forced Ali to retreat more quickly than he wanted and his rights to the ribs during clinches inflicted damage that registered on Alis face. The following year, he was convicted in Florida of raping a family baby sitter and was sentenced to four years in prison. Get email updates with the day's biggest stories. Thanks for your help! or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. With barely a dozen fights as an amateur, Berbick turned pro on September 27, 1976, scoring a TKO in Shediac, New Brunswick, known as The Lobster Capital of the World.. Now, he just wanted to get by. Ali seemed fine with it and I didnt remember feeling sad for him. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions. Trevor Berbick, a former opponent of Holmes, showed up at the post-fight press conference looking to stir the pot. He lost a unanimous decision but was the first fighter to go the distance with Holmes in a title fight. He eventually moved back to the U.S., but was deported a second time. The onetime Ali Circus appeared flat emotionally, for they knew Ali had shown woeful energy throughout the 11-week training cycle. A decision over undefeated Greg Page seven months later seemed to solidify Berbick as a legitimate contender, but consecutive losses to Renaldo Snipes and cruiserweight ST Gordon reversed his momentum and branded him a journeyman. The fight was competitive enough where I was hoping he was going to do it, he said in a July 2017 phone interview. Berbick continued to fight, with his final bout being a 2000 win over Canadian journeyman Shane Sutcliffe. San Jose, CA 95112. Win, lose or draw, I hope he doesnt fight again, Dunphy said between rounds nine and 10. How dare he try to play with Alis mind? This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, The former champ was also deported from the U.S. on two separate occasions and his life came to a tragic end in 2006 when he was brutally murdered in his home country of Jamaica by his very own nephew. Jurors deliberated for just two hours before finding the former champion guilty of raping a 26-year-old woman that worked as a babysitter for the Berbick family. The victory made Tyson, 20,the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history. Tyson took control of the fight from the start and levelled Berbick in the second with a vicious right hand,knocking the champion down. Im from your part of the world. Then, to punctuate his point, he fired a hook toward Alis head and blasted more rights to the ribs as Ali clinched. Following a first-round exit from the Olympics, Berbick eventually settled in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where boxing was an also-ran against not only hockey but curling as well. If nothing else, Ali could be proud that he earned the privilege of ending this fight on his feet instead of on his stool. But Berbick immediately jumped to his feet. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16356139/trevor-berbick. He's one of just two boxers to fight both Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson, the other being Larry Holmes, and was a big part of an often-overlooked era in the sport in the early 1980s. To use this feature, use a newer browser. I dont remember if Ali started punching him at that point, but Berbick was asserting his dominance and playing with Alis mind. Even though just nearly 15 years after the Trevor Berbick fight, he would go on to declare bankruptcy, this 2-round bout in 1986 generated one of the first biggest paydays of Mike Tyson's pro-boxing career. Theyd drink and let off steam, and theyd fight anybody in the streets. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. He was missing the fastball and he was not getting there in time. Florida, U.S., Marriage Indexes, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001, Canada, Obituary Collection, 1898-Current, Canada, Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current, UK and Ireland, Obituary Index, 2004-2019, Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. But he insists the best of him is still to come, writes Declan Taylor. God raised me up for a purpose! Alonzo Butler submitted the kindest card at 97-94 while colleagues Jay Edson and Clyde Gray delivered harsher news by seeing Berbick the 99-94 winner. Canada actually attempted to deport him as well given his legal troubles but Berbick was able to win a judgment in court that allowed him to stay. Ali, on the other hand, required more time than the sport of boxing could grant him. Berbicks second-half surge allowed him to pull away on the scorecards. According to Nack, Ali, wearing a rubber corset, walked more than he ran during roadwork, shadowboxed listlessly, then climbed into a waiting limousine that took him back to his hotel. Directions. He tried convincing U.S. commissions that Ali was still fit to fight, but none gave their consent. He fought in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, and stayed there to turn professional, winning his first 11 fights (10 by knockout) before losing for the first time to Bernardo Mercado in 1979. If you couldnt beat Trevor Berbick there was really no point in going on. Berbick made his professional boxing debut at the age of 22 on September 27, 1976. O'Connor Mortuary Arrangement Center - Irvine 4010 Barranca Pkwy, Ste 200 He won thrice in London (KO 5, KO 6 versus Henry Cooper, KO 3 Brian London), four times elsewhere in Europe (KO 12 Karl Mildenberger, KO 7 Juergen Blin, KO 11 Al Blue Lewis, KO 5 Richard Dunn), four times in Asia (W 15 Mac Foster, W 12 Rudi Lubbers, W 15 Joe Bugner II, KO 14 Joe Frazier III), three times elsewhere in North America (W 15, W 12 George Chuvalo II, KO 5 Jean-Pierre Coopman) and once in Africa (KO 8 George Foreman) before losing to Berbick in the Bahamas. Thanks for signing up! (5), For a fight of this magnitude, this tops it all, Eddie Futch, who guided Pete McIntyre to a 10-round decision win over Mike Fisher, told the New York Times George Vescey. He later had legal problems, including convictions for sexual assault, grand theft and burglary, that led to his being deported from the United States to his native Jamaica. Carlos Acevedo is the editor of Hannibal Boxing and was the founder of The Cruelest Sport. Maybe Ali was right about blaming the weight loss and the prescription drugs concealing his true ability in the Holmes fight. Former world and Canadian heavyweight boxing champion Trevor Berbick was found dead Saturday morning in his hometown of Kingston, Jamaica, with chop wounds to . Berbick's career soured following the loss to Tyson and he began to run into legal trouble. Former Canadian heavyweight champion Trevor Berbick was found dead Saturday in Kingston, Jamaica, according to police. His death, officially from a drugs overdose, in the early 70s remains a contentious subject. HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (AP) _ Trevor Berbick, the former heavyweight champion who beat Muhammad Ali in the boxing great's final fight, faces deportation and was ordered to return to his native Jamaica. (4), The main event almost didnt happen because Berbick had received only $100,000 of his $350,000 guarantee and said he wouldnt fight until he was paid the full amount. But there was also a dark side to Trevor Berbick. KINGSTON, Jamaica Former heavyweight champion Trevor Berbick was found dead in a church courtyard Saturday with chop wounds to his head in a suspected homicide. They were convicted in December, 2007, and sentenced to life in prison. Berbick fought from 1976 to 2000, finishing with a 50-11-1 record, including 33 knockouts. Berbick, who claimed that the incident was consensual, was sentenced to five years in prison but served just 15 months. Funeral Home; Death of Trevor Berbick. One night a marine jumped me coming home from work. Even before the end of round one, blow-by-blow commentator Don Dunphy declared the first a very good round for Ali, and he was right. Berbick's death a homicide: police | CBC Sports Loaded. That made it even more insulting to me. Berbick might have believed his words, but when he got the chance to dominate inside the ring he took it with both hands. One measure of a fighters worth is whether he left the sport in better shape than it was when he first arrived. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. The more energetic Berbick bounded into the squared circle four minutes later and as he danced around the ring a stony Ali ignored him instead of launching into his usual pre-fight antics. He threw 100 punches and landed 45, including 36 of 86 power shots. Berbick eventually returned to Florida, where he was finally deported to Jamaica in 2002. Trevor Berbick was an extremely talented fighter with a lot of natural ability. The bout was Ali's last in a career that spanned three decades. He knows what to do but he cant do it. Then, ever the hopeful soul, Dunphy added, at least he cant up to now. His right hands, once crisp and stinging, lacked speed and were occasionally delivered with an awkward downward chop. Boxing was on TV like crazy and we had the big closed-circuit fights. Trevor Berbick, boxer: born Port Antonio, Jamaica 1 August 1954; twice married (six children); died Norwich, Jamaica 28 October 2006. Nephew Is Convicted in the Death of Trevor Berbick, https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/22/sports/othersports/22berbick.html. Thats the story everyone knows. More in News . Just as he had against Weaver a few months earlier, Tate opened a wide lead before imploding late. I came out all right for an old man. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Instead, they got an old Ali. James Cornelius, described in press releases as a Los Angeles-based entrepreneur, was the man charged with finding those mountains that were willing to be moved.